


Don't Fall Asleep, I'm Yours to Keep

by ChelseaIBelieve



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: 2016 NHL All-Star Game, 5+1 Things, Coming Out, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:22:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6633199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChelseaIBelieve/pseuds/ChelseaIBelieve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five people (well, technically six) who already knew Sasha and Nicky were together and the one person they surprised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Fall Asleep, I'm Yours to Keep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [allofthefandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allofthefandoms/gifts).



> To Allofthefandoms: One of your prompts was "5 people who knew they were together, 1 person they surprised," but I know it was actually for a different pairing on your list, and I hope you don't totally hate me for commandeering it for these two! I included Sid/Geno to make up for it a little bit. :) I really hope you enjoy. I tried to include as many of your likes as I'm comfortable writing and logically could fit in.
> 
> Thanks to Leyna for the beta and the help with trying to sort out three different Russians all speaking different levels of broken English in the same fic.
> 
> No thanks at all to Kuzy and Geno, who I had trouble with because I couldn't just use their first names in the narrative, because they're the same (even if they do transliterate them slightly differently) and they were in the same scene together, and that would just be too confusing. Therefore, Kuzy gets to be Kuzy and Geno gets to be Malkin because it's Nicky's POV.

  1. Tatyana Ovechkina



Nicky was far too involved in watching as Sasha slowly sucked him off on the couch to notice the sound of the key in the lock or the door opening. He ran a hand through Sasha’s hair, tugging slightly as he did and earning a muffled moan from the man kneeling between his legs.

“Oh, fuck, Sasha.”

“Sasha?” A woman’s voice called from the foyer, floating slowly into Nicky’s brain and taking too long to properly register. It wasn’t until he heard a few more words of confused Russian that he realized what was happening.

He moved to shove Sasha off of him, but it was too late.

“Mama!” Sasha let out in a yelp, scrambling backwards as Nicky grabbed the blanket to throw over his lap, thankful that they were both still mostly dressed.

“Privyet, Nicky.” She smiled warmly at Nicky before turning an amused but disapproving smirk towards her son. “Tea? I’ll boil water, you...” She trailed off and gestured vaguely at where Nicky was covering himself and looking mortified.

“Fuck.” Sasha ran a hand through his hair as Nicky tucked himself back into his pants, hands shaking nervously.

“So, I guess you’re coming out to her now?” Nicky glanced at the kitchen before looking back at Sasha. “Want me here with you or no?”

“Please?” Sasha asked, reaching out and taking Nicky’s hand in his own.

They entered the kitchen, and Tatyana waved them towards the table before bringing over the tea tray. She set the tray down and went back for the kettle before finally settling into her seat.

“How are you, Nicky?” She asked mildly, pouring water over the tea strainer in her mug.

“Um, okay,” Nicky answered, glancing anxiously at Sasha who was sitting straight up in his chair and very still. Nicky took the kettle and busied himself making his tea, careful to avoid looking directly at Tatyana.

“Is good to see you. Maybe see less of you next time,” she said, her teasing tone causing Nicky to finally make eye contact with her in surprise. She turned to Sasha and spoke in rapid-fire Russian, too quick for Nicky to catch what she was saying.

“Uh, Mama says she is very happy for us, but thinks I should not have kept secret so long that I’m, uh, you know,” Sasha translated for Nicky.

“Oh.” Nicky nodded slowly, processing as he pulled the tea strainer from his mug. “She, um, knew already?”

“I understand why he kept secret about boys. Russia is not so understanding,” Tatyana said, pausing to sip at her tea. “But, I am not Russia.”

“Prosti, Mama,” Sasha apologized, fiddling with the handle of his mug. Tatyana said something else in Russian to him, but Nicky was too distracted to understand everything. When they stopped, Nicky looked up at Sasha again.

“She knew about us, too?” He clarified, trying to translate what he recognized.

“Yeah.” Sasha let out a nervous chuckle. “She, uh, she thought we were, um,  _ you know _ , before we were.”

“Does your dad know? And your brother?”

“Da, they both know. They also happy for you,” Tatyana confirmed, reaching across the table to pat Nicky’s shoulder. “Your mom knows, too. You tell her properly. Maybe not like you tell me, but you tell her. After you tell, we all have dinner, okay?”

“I’m really so sorry about that.” Nicky blushed even harder than he had been, mumbling into his lap. “I actually told her, um, over the off-season. She said she’d already figured it out, but she didn’t say you knew, too.”

“I let Sasha tell me at his own speed.” She shrugged slightly before standing up and moving over to pull Sasha into a hug, murmuring soft Russian to him as she did. After a few moments, she pulled away and moved to hug Nicky as well. “Dinner? I make pel’meni, we can celebrate.”

* * *

 

  1. Barry Trotz



After the game, Sasha hobbled off towards the trainer’s office, favoring one leg slightly. Nicky watched him go as he stripped off his own gear, concerned about what was wrong.

He showered quickly and got dressed to meet with the media, but Sasha still wasn’t back, so he decided to go find out what was wrong first. He started to open  the door to the trainer’s office, but Ben hopped up from the chair just inside the room and pushed him back out  the door, closing it behind them.

“Do you need something, Nicky?” Ben asked, looking Nicky up and down as if he could find an injury with his eyes.

“Just checking on Sasha.” Nicky gestured to the door behind Ben.

“Not right now. He’ll be  fine, and you can just text him later, okay?” Ben started to brush him off and go back into the office, but Nicky stopped him with a hand to the shoulder.

“No. What’s wrong with him?”

“We’re figuring that out, and I’m sure he can talk to you about it later.” Ben replied, frowning at where Nicky was moving his hand to the door handle.

“I’m just going to go in now,” Nicky told him, trying to push past.

“Nicky, no.” Ben stepped in his way again, just as Barry walked by on his way to his own media availability. “Coach, help me out here.”

“What’s up?” Barry stopped and looked between the two of them in confusion. “You hurt, Backy?”

“No, just want to check on O, but Ben’s telling me no.” Nicky crossed his arms in frustration.

“Why can’t he go in?” Barry asked, turning to Ben with an unsure expression.

“You know the rules. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all that. Only family and significant others,” Ben reminded him with a frown.

“Oh, that.” Barry rolled his eyes with a laugh. “Just let Backy in. You know Ovi will kick him out if he has a problem with it.”

“How about I go check with Ovi? If he’s okay with it, you can come in. Sound fair?” Ben offered as a compromise before disappearing into the office.

“Thanks,” Nicky said quietly, turning to Barry.

“If you two would just tell the team, we could set up the paperwork, and it wouldn’t be an issue,” Barry shrugged with a chuckle. “But hey, you two can do whatever you want. Who am I to tell you any different?”

“Tell the team what?” Nicky asked tentatively.  _ Barry couldn’t possibly know, could he? _

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Barry shook his head with another eye roll before turning to leave. “Once you’re sure he’s okay, don’t forget about your media availability.”

“Okay, he says you can come in.” Ben poked his head back out, and Nicky followed him in, glancing uncertainly behind himself one more time at Barry’s retreating figure.

* * *

 

  1. Evgeny Kuznetsov



“Kuzy’s going to be here in ten minutes, so anything else you need before I go?” Nicky stepped in between Sasha and the TV.

“Fix my-” Sasha started, but Nicky cut him off.

“Other than that. I can’t magically make you better.”

“Gonna Skype me during breaks?” Sasha grinned, grabbing ahold of Nicky and pulling him down so he was straddling his lap.

“When I can,” Nicky agreed before leaning down to press a few light kisses to Sasha’s jaw. “It’s only a few days. I always survive when you’re gone, you know?”

“It’s your first All-Star Game. I want to be there,” Sasha sighed sadly, running his hands under Nicky’s shirt and along the waistband of his pants.

“Next year, we’ll just have to make sure we go back together, okay?”

“Okay.” Sasha nodded happily, then wrapped his fingers in Nicky’s shirt, pulling him in close for a kiss.

Nicky pressed into the kiss, savouring it as he committed it to memory for the time he’d be away from Sasha.

A loud knock on the door broke them apart, and Sasha let out a sad sigh.

“Fine, go. Enjoy your weekend with inferior Russians.”

“You know I love you most.” Nicky rolled his eyes and stole one more kiss before standing up. He grabbed his bags and made his way towards the door, where the knocking had intensified to an obnoxious volume and speed. He opened the door, annoyed. “Calm down, Kuzy.”

“Need to piss.” Kuzy pushed past him and into the house, headed straight to the bathroom but stopping short when he got to the living room. Nicky followed after him and watched as he stared at  Sasha on the couch, opened his mouth to say something, then hurried to the bathroom without a word.

“Okay, Backy. Ready to go?” He asked when he returned from the bathroom.

“Uh, yeah.” Nicky shouldered his bag and gestured towards the door.

“Nice shirt, Sasha.” Kuzy made a vague gesture at Sasha’s chest, where the shirt he was wearing was emblazoned with a number 19. Sasha started to say something in protest, but Kuzy ignored him, making his way out the front door. Nicky followed, rolling his eyes fondly at Sasha’s continued complaints.

“So, um,” Nicky started as they sat down in the car, unsure what he was going to say to explain why Sasha was in his house, wearing his clothes.

“Backy, stop.” Kuzy put a hand out. “Don’t make up lie. I know already about you and Sasha. Wish you guys tell me, but I understand why not.”

“Oh. How did you know?” Nicky asked. This was getting to be a common occurrence, and he was starting to wonder just how many people knew they were together.

“Not very good at being secret. Also, Sasha talk about you too much when he drinks. Is obvious.” Kuzy shrugged and turned the car on.

* * *

 

  1. Evgeni Malkin



Nicky made his way into the holding room where everyone was getting ready to head out for the Skills Competition, looking around to find Kuzy and Braden in the crowd. Braden was over in a corner with the other Eastern Conference goalies, but he caught sight of Kuzy talking to Malkin and made his way over to them.

As he got close, he could hear their low Russian and recognized his own name, so he tried to pick out as much as he could. Malkin mentioned something about Sasha not being there, and they both chuckled.

“Are you two talking about me?” He forced his way into their conversation, giving them both a disapproving frown. 

Malkin looked over at Kuzy and lifted an eyebrow, then said that it was good Nicky couldn’t understand them. 

“I actually can understand you. I mean, not everything, but enough.”

“When you learn Russian?” Malkin asked, grinning at him.

“I played in Moscow during the lockout, remember?” Nicky crossed his arms in annoyance.

“Sasha teach him. They spend lot of time together,” Kuzy teased, nudging Nicky with his elbow. “Right, Backy?”

“I’m try teach Sid, but he, eh, not so good.” Malkin waggled his hand in a so-so motion. “Sasha have special way teach you better? I’m could use the help.”

“No, he-” Nicky started, but Kuzy cut him off with a laugh.

“You not want to know Sasha’s special way. Very sexy, I’m sure.”

“Okay, I’m leaving.” Nicky turned bright red and turned to walk away, but Malkin caught up with him after a few steps.

“Is okay, you know. I’m miss Sid, too.” Malkin swung his arm around Nicky’s shoulder and added quietly, “Like you miss Sasha. Is hard to be away from boyfriend, but only one weekend.”

“He’s not my…” Nicky’s protest trailed off as he registered what Malkin was saying. “Oh. You and Sid?”

“Yeah, for long time now. Since Sid got head injury.”

“Oh, um, wow. Us, too. A long time, I mean. Well, since the lockout, while we were playing in Russia. Wow, okay. So, you knew about us, and I had no idea about you.” Nicky admitted honestly, trying to process the situation.

“No, you two not so good at keeping secret. Sid and I best.” Malkin grinned and squeezed Nicky’s shoulder. “Don’t forget, is just one weekend, then you can go back home for Sasha. Be happy, okay?”

“Okay.” Nicky nodded, finally returning Malkin’s infectious smile.

* * *

 

  1. Tom Wilson and Michael Latta



Nicky was relaxing in his recliner, floating between napping and vague awareness of the television, when there was a soft knock on the door. Assuming it was Sasha, he elected not to get up and just shouted at the door.

“Just come in, weirdo. It’s fucking open, and you don’t have to knock.”

He heard the door open and the sound of movement in the hallway, but continued to keep his focus on SportsCenter.

“Uh, Papa?” Tom’s voice came from the doorway to the living room, causing Nicky to look up in surprise.

“Oh, it’s you two.” He moved to sit up and took in the sight of Tom and Michael, both shifting nervously where they stood. “What’s up, boys?”

“Can we talk to you about something? It’s kind of important,” Michael asked, looking down at his feet.

“Yeah, always. Sit down.” He gestured to the open couch and watched as both boys shuffled over and sat down. Neither one would make eye contact with him, so Nicky sighed and stood up. “I’m gonna grab a beer for this. Either of you want something? Soda? Water? A lemonade?”

“I’ll take a beer,” Tom finally looked up at Nicky, frowning indignantly at the implication that he was too young to drink.

“I’m sorry, young man, but I’m going to have to ask for an ID,” Nicky teased with a grin, then turned to walk to the kitchen.

When he returned with three beers, he found Tom and Michael whispering quietly to each other. He cleared his throat and handed over their beers before settling back into his chair.

“Alright, you two. What’s up? You’re acting really weird, and unless you did something illegal, calm down. It’s just me.” He waited for a moment, but neither of them spoke up. “ _ Did  _ you do something illegal?”

“No!” Tom defended them quickly, but then paused for a moment. “Well, it’s not illegal here, at least. I mean, Russia, but that’s Russia.”

“Okay then. Did you do this illegal thing in Russia? Because if not, then it doesn’t matter. Did you make fun of Putin or something? I know he gets sensitive about it, but it’s hardly a big deal if two random-”

“We’re together,” Michael cut him off, sliding his hand into Tom’s lap to squeeze at his hand. “Like, together together.”

“Congratulations,” Nicky told them sincerely, smiling at the two of them. “I can’t say I’m surprised or anything, but I’m happy for you two.”

“Thanks.” Tom leaned in to Michael’s side, returning Nicky’s smile.

“Are you just letting me know, or is there something else you need my help with?”

“Well, we’ve been talking with You Can Play for a while now,” Michael admitted cautiously. “We’re thinking about coming out, but we kind of wanted your opinion first on if it’s a good idea.” He paused as Nicky nodded and took a sip of his beer. “You know, talk to you about why you haven’t come out yet.”

“What?” Nicky choked on his beer and coughed for a few moments.

“Not that we’re judging! God, no. Of course not,” Tom quickly added. “It’s just, we thought since you’ve been around longer and haven’t come out, you might be able to tell us if you think it’s a really bad idea or not.”

“I mean, we get why Ovi hasn’t, what with Russia being Russia and all,” Michael continued after Tom finished. “We don’t really care how the media is or how the fans are, but we just don’t know how the locker room will react and stuff. We hoped you could maybe give us some advice.”

“Who told you about Sasha and I?” Nicky asked, mentally preparing himself for a discussion with Kuzy.

“No one told us.” Tom shrugged. “You’re just really obvious, but maybe it’s because we’re in the same boat. I’m sure other people haven’t figured it out, don’t worry.”

“They definitely have.” Nicky sighed and shook his head. “I shouldn’t even be surprised at this point. Everyone seems to know already. Anyways, I don’t know how the locker room will react, but from my experience so far, I think they’ll be cool with it. Plus, there’s more guys like us in the league than you think.” Nicky thought back to what Malkin had said about himself and Sid.

“Like who?” Tom asked excitedly. “Anyone else on the team? Anyone I know?”

“You’ll just have to figure it out for yourselves,” Nicky teased with a smirk. “But let me tell you, if you two do figure it out, I’m sure it’ll blow your minds.”

“You can’t just say that and not tell us who!” Tom argued, getting worked up. Michael moved a hand to his shoulder to try and calm him down. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just really curious,” Tom pouted, and Michael rolled his eyes at him.

“Anyways, we’re ready to come out to the public. Our families know, and we’re not important enough in the league for it to be that big of a deal for long.” Michael shrugged with a self-deprecating smile. “We’re really just worried about how the team will handle it.”

“Maybe Nicky and I tell the team first. Then, you see how they react and decide.” Sasha said, poking his head into the room, causing everyone to jump in surprise.

“Oh, I didn’t even hear the door.” Nicky admitted as Sasha came over and gave him a quick peck on the lips before stealing his beer. “Hey!”

“You never hear the door,” Sasha teased, waggling his eyebrows teasingly at the reminder of the last time Nicky hadn’t heard the door. “What you think, Nicky? Maybe can’t tell Russia, but ready to tell the team?” Sasha stared him down seriously.

“Yeah.” Nicky smiled fondly up at Sasha and grabbed his beer back. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Tomorrow, then.” Sasha looked back to Tom and Michael as he started to back out of the room towards the kitchen. “You boys staying for dinner? I’m grilling steaks.”

“Definitely.” Tom agreed, leaning over to steal a kiss from Michael as Nicky stood to follow Sasha and give them a minute of privacy.

* * *

 

+1. Braden Holtby

The next morning, the team gathered in the locker room for a post-practice meeting.

“Alright, so, Pens tonight, then only two more games before playoffs. Let’s finish strong.” Barry told them, glancing down at his notes. “I think I’m done. Anybody have anything else?”

“Uh, actually, yes.” Nicky stood up and moved to the center of the room. “Okay, I don’t really know the best way to say this.” He looked over at Sasha, who was coming to join him. “It’s really important, and we really want you guys to be cool with it, so, um.” He paused, looking down at his hands nervously.

“Holy shit, it’s actually happening,” Marcus piped up from his locker.

“Pay up, bitches!” Nate shouted, jumping up from the bench  to point at a few players. “I fucking called it. I said they’d do it before playoffs.”

“Hold on, hold on! They haven’t actually done it!” Brooks pointed out. “I’ve paid up unnecessarily before over this shit, so I need to hear them actually say it.”

“That pissed me off so much. Fucking Nealer made out like a bandit, and they weren’t even actually doing it.” Matt groaned from his seat, commiserating with Brooks.

“What the fuck is happening here?” Michael asked incredulously. “Was there betting happening that we weren’t know about?” He groaned and looked over at Tom. “We could’ve made out like bandits. We fucking knew!”

“Wait, wait, hold on, Nicky!” Tom turned to Nicky and pointed in the direction of Brooks and Matt. “It’s guys from the Pens? Is that who? Holy shit, oh my god. Is it-?”

“Everyone shut up!” Kuzy yelled, cutting Tom off. Everyone turned to him for a moment, then looked up at where Nicky and Sasha were standing in shock. “Nicky, continue.”

“I guess everyone knew already, which isn’t really surprising; that keeps happening lately.” Nicky sighed and took Sasha’s hand. “So, this is us officially coming out to you guys and letting you know that we’re together. We have been since the lockout, and we’re going to be moving in together next season, and we just really hope you can be happy for us.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Braden spoke up.

“Wait, what?!”

The whole team turned to him in surprise as he straightened  up, an incredulous look on his face.

“Is that not okay?” Nicky asked, dropping Sasha’s hand in favor of wrapping a protective arm around him instead.

“It’s fine with me, of course.” Braden waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not some asshole. I just had no fucking idea.”

“Really?” Brooks asked in surprise, sharing a look with Matt. “But you’re the goalie.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be, like, your superpower?” Matt added, his face scrunched up in confusion. “Because when this happened on the Pens, Flower knew way before anyone.”

Tom’s eyes got big, and he opened his mouth to say something. Nicky shot him a look; he closed his mouth again.

“You’re clearly not a very good goalie if you didn’t know. I mean, we all knew about them,” Philipp pointed out teasingly. “I knew, because I’m a proper goalie.”

“Hey, everyone be nice to Holts,” Sasha piped up in Braden’s defense.

“Yeah, just because he doesn’t have goalie magic doesn’t mean he’s a bad goalie,” Michael pointed out.

“I know about those two, if it helps?” Braden tried to defend himself, gesturing to Tom and Michael.

“So does everyone, Holts,” Philipp rolled his eyes, earning protests from Tom and Michael both.

“Okay, you’re all jerks. I’m going home.” Braden gave an exaggerated pout as he stood and took a few steps towards the door.

“Aww, Holts, you know we love you! You’re our favorite goalie.” Tom moved over to jump on Braden’s back, and the rest of the team followed suit, hugging Braden before moving off to settle their various bets.

“That went okay,” Sasha said, turning to face Nicky while the rest of the team was distracted.

“Better than I expected,” Nicky agreed with a chuckle. “Plus, now you can move into my place in the fall.”

“Who says your place? Mine is better.” Sasha wrapped his arms around Nicky’s waist and pulled him in close.

“We can argue about it more later.” Nicky tilted his head slightly to capture Sasha’s lips in a relieved kiss. “Ya tebya lyublyu.”

“Mmm, getting better at pronunciation,” Sasha teased before replying with his own attempt at Swedish, “Jag älskar dig med.”

“Awwww,” Nate cooed at them from where he was gleefully counting his money, earning himself a dirty look from Nicky and the finger from Sasha.


End file.
